India reported over 3 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, the highest daily increase in infections the country has recorded in the pandemic so far. No country has recorded more cases in a single day. 

There were 2,104 deaths reported on the same day, another record for India. With 3,14,835 new cases, the total infections stand at 1,59,30,965. The toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,84,657.

Amid the oxygen crisis in the national capital, the Delhi High Court came down strongly on the Centre on Wednesday, saying it seemed that “human lives are not that important.. for the state”. “Beg, borrow or steal. It is a national emergency,” the judges said. The court’s observations come as several private hospitals reached out to the Delhi government regarding depleting oxygen supplies.

The Maharashtra government, meanwhile, announced fresh restrictions on office attendance, marriage ceremonies and travel. The new set of restrictions will come into effect from 8 pm on Thursday and will remain in force until 7 am on May 1. Goa also decided to impose a night curfew till April 30 to tackle the pandemic.

Meanwhile, polling is underway in West Bengal in the midst of the unprecedented Covid-19 surge. West Bengal registered its highest-ever single-day spike, with 9,819 people testing positive.

In other news, twenty-four Covid-19 patients died at a hospital run by the Nashik Municipal Corporation on Wednesday after oxygen supply was disrupted due to a leakage in the main oxygen storage tank.

Source: The Indian Express 

BDST: 1209 HRS, APR 22, 2021
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